Bankrupt Taxpayer Funded Solar Plant Leaves Behind Toxic Waste

Abound Solar, one of President Obama’s green pet projects, not only went bankrupt after receiving millions in federal stimulus funds, but also left behind a big mess of toxic waste. Is that good for the environment?

The Abound Solar plant, which got $400 million in federal loan guarantees in 2010, when the Obama administration sought to use stimulus funds to promote green energy, filed for bankruptcy two years later. Now its Longmont, Colo., facility sits unoccupied, its 37,000 square feet littered with hazardous waste, broken glass and contaminated water. The Northern Colorado Business Report estimates it will cost up to $3.7 million to clean and repair the building so it can again be leased.

“As lawyers, regulators, bankruptcy officials and the landlord spar over the case, the building lies in disrepair, too contaminated to lease,” the report stated.

The owner of the property tried to force a bankruptcy trustee to clean the facility, but the report said it would “place humans at imminent and significant health risk.” One of the hazards is the presence of cadmium, a cancer-causing agent that is used to produce the film on the solar panels, the report said. (Read More)

It gets worse. In all taxpayers lost $70 million, and unsold inventory which was supposed to be used to offset those losses has gone missing. This is the same company that Obama touted in July of 2010 as a real job creator.